Vanderbilt beats Stanford, rolls to College World Series

Vanderbilt's Bryan Reynolds (20) is congratulated by Dansby Swanson (7) and Xavier Turner after scoring on an error in the eighth inning of the Super Regional on Sunday at Hawkins Field in Nashville. Vanderbilt won 12-5 to advance to the College World Series. (Photo: Jae S. Lee / The Tennessean)

Vanderbilt's Hayden Stone throws a pitch against Stanford in the seventh inning of the Super Regional finale on Sunday at Hawkins Field in Nashville. Stone allowed just one unearned run in six innings. (Photo: Jae S. Lee / The Tennessean)

Vanderbilt's Vince Conde stands on first base after his RBI single in the seventh inning against Stanford during the Super Regional game at Hawkins Field in Nashville. (Photo: Jae S. Lee / The Tennessean)

Vanderbilt pitcher Hayden Stone (32) prepares to celebrate as Stanford's Zach Hoffpauir makes the last out during the Super Regional game at Hawkins Field in Nashville on Sunday. (Photo: Jae S. Lee / The Tennessean)

Thanks to a pair of big offensive innings and a stellar outing from freshman reliever Hayden Stone, Vanderbilt is going to the College World Series for the second time.

The Commodores beat Stanford 12-5 in the deciding Game 3 of the Super Regional on Sunday at Hawkins Field.

"It's absolutely incredible," said second baseman Dansby Swanson, who was 2-for-4 and scored three runs. "We went through some struggles, but we just stood our ground and just stayed within one another. I couldn't be more proud of how we battled, and how we went about our business. It's a true blessing that we were able to come here together."

Vanderbilt's next game will be at 7 p.m. Saturday against Louisville in Omaha, Neb. Louisville eliminated Vanderbilt last year in the Super Regionals.

The College World Series features double-elimination pool play until there are two teams left that play a best-of-three series for the title. Cal-Irvine and Texas are also in Vanderbilt's pool.

Throwing the first punch with a five-run top of the first inning, the Commodores (46-19) did not flinch under the pressure of a winner-take-all matchup with the Cardinal after losing Saturday's game on a walk-off homer.

It all began with a lead-off single up the middle by Swanson, who showed no shortage of emotion when he rounded first base on the first of 15 hits for Vanderbilt.

"I was just trying to come out there and set a tone," Swanson said. "Trying to give the appearance that we were not going to fold down after what happened (Saturday)."

The rest of the Commodores followed suit, matching his offensive approach as they strung together six hits in the opening inning, with five batters driving in a run.

"We were just being aggressive," said John Norwood, who had one of his three hits in the inning. "That's what Coach (Tim Corbin) told us in our (pre-game) meeting, and that's what we did today. Everyone was just being aggressive whether it was in the batter's box, on the bases or on the mound."

The Commodores withstood a counterpunch from Stanford in the third, as the Cardinal responded with four runs off starter Walker Buehler. With Vanderbilt's lead trimmed to one run and seven hits logged against his starter, Corbin decided to make an early call to the bullpen for Stone in the fourth inning.

"We needed to turn the momentum," Corbin said. "We just needed a change, and that's nothing against Walker. He started the game last week (regional clincher vs. Oregon), but they were on to him a little bit, and when they weren't on to him they were just finding holes."

It was the right move.

Stone, a former Columbia pitcher, finished the game in his first appearance since the SEC Tournament more than two weeks ago, allowing just an unearned run and striking out eight.

Vanderbilt threw its knockout punch in the top of the seventh inning, scoring four more runs to extend its lead to 10-5 as Stanford (35-26) churned through five relievers. The Commodores had RBI singles from Vince Conde and Norwood.

The Commodores added a pair of runs in the top of the eighth on a botched pick-off play that included two throwing errors, giving Vanderbilt a seven-run cushion and pushing their fans into an early celebration.

"We're all truly blessed just to be here right now with one another," Norwood said. "Hopefully we'll get to the national championship. That's our next step, so we're not done."

Reach Nick Cole at 615-259-8010 and on Twitter @ncole6.

The Commodores defeated Stanford on Sunday to secure a trip to the College World Series in Omaha.